HW #51 - Second Third of "The American Way of Death Revisited" by Jessica Mitford

Precis:
The process of dealing with one's dead body in this society involves various areas of deception. The business of cemetaries and memorials is essentially a self-professed non-profit organization, which in actuality is a highly profitable real estate business. Cemetary directors "earn" their considerable sums of money by decieving consumers into thinking that the huge cost is going toward legitimate causes like grounds upkeep, beautiful locations of burial that signify a worthy eternal resting place for the deceased, extended cemetary property and grave care (when really the costs are going primarily into the cemetary-owners' pockets and buying little more than a few square feet of dug up dirt). Cemetary sales-people also sell their graves by pretending that it is cheaper to buy now rather than when the need arises, and that utilizing a religiously affiliated cemetary is unadvisable because those cemetaries are sub-par. Another area of deception regards cremation; the only way for funeral industries to sustain crematory procedures is to milk the idea that giving the remains to funeral businesses to dispose of or store the ashes is pychologically more healthy and more legal for the survivors. One cannot go through this industry without being cruelly maligned and/or decieved.

Quotes I Enjoyed:

• "The little receptacles have a certain sameness about them - which is not surprising, since they are identical" (page 90).
• "I could see why the counselor was not too anxious to have prospects go out there" (page 92).
• "Cemetaries...were charging $7 for opening and closing a grave. Now a mechanized operation, opening and closing a grave can be completed in about 15 minutes. Today, cemetaries are charging a $600 to $900 for this service" (92).
• "Regulatory laws that might give the buyer some measure of protection have not yet, in many states, been enacted" (page 94).
• "Pre-need cemetary promoters, in considering whether a particular community is ripe for exploitation, are least of all concerned about whether there is a deficiency of cemetary space" (page 96).
• "It became clear that commissioned sales people are the traditional - and proven - way to go, and that straight salary or salary/commission combinations have not yielded the optimum sales results" (page 100).
• "In sober fact, every day is a day of judgement" (page 113).

Analytical Paragraph:
I find it both hilarious and disheartening that so much value is placed on the meaningless tradition surrounding care of the dead. It is funny that so much art in a cemetary like Forest Lawn is used to turn it into a money-making, propaganda-filled memorial park rather than to help soften the stab of loss or to emphasize the sentimental eternality of beauty amid abrupt endings (of life, relationships, beating hearts, fulfilled potential). The manipulative purposes of statues like "Little Duck Mother, Little Pals, Look Mommy!...partially draped venuses, seminude enchantresses" are nauseating and artful only in terms of deception. People spend thousands of valuable dollars on airtight caskets to postpone the effects of elements on the body, when they would be better of saving money and allowing aerobic bacteria (instead of anaerobic bacteria) do the dirty work. No one is going to see that body after it is buried....the body serves no use to the surviving family and friends unless they want the organs immediately after burial. Who cares if the body is attacked by the elements? Next thing you know funeral directors will be trying to sell $5,000 toupees (done in the embalming process) which help to ward off bacteria so that the dead person's brain will be preserved longer and "their remains can descend into death gently." I find it funny that people fall for this because it is so ridiculous, but it is sad that so much money is going towards an end with imaginary means, simply to obtain some alleged psychological rightness or social status.